GOP Rep. Steve King Is Only Vote Against Recognizing History Of Slave Labor In Capitol

Here’s an interesting example of those famous lone “No” votes in Congress — the contrarian who is willing to stand up alone against the overwhelming majority of his or her colleagues, and vote against something that was passing easily.

Yesterday, the House of Representatives voted 399-1 for the Capitol Visitors Center to have a plaque acknowledging the role of slave labor in the construction of the Capitol. The resolution has information in it that even this history fanatic didn’t know about — for example, slave labor was involved in constructing the “Statue of Freedom” atop the Capitol Dome.

The “Yes” votes spanned the ideological spectrum, from Ron Paul and Michele Bachmann on the right to Maxine Waters and Dennis Kucinich on the left. The one vote against: Rep. Steve King (R-IA).

King’s office has not yet commented on his reason for the vote.

Late Update: King has now released a statement, explaining that the vote was about protecting America’s Judeo-Christian heritage.